Monday's Rewind Update

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Well, the drywall behind the washer and dryer is finally dry. One fan out of the place.

The carpenter from the mitigation company pulled out the particle board bottom of the vanity today...while the power was out due to 8" of heavy wet snow and an inch of ice. He set up his task light and I held my flashlight.

Once he got the bottom of the vanity out (it came out in crumbles) we discovered that a cold water inlet pipe to the sink was LEAKING away!

That certainly explains why things weren't drying in there. So, the plumber is coming BACK out tomorrow afternoon to repair that pipe. On MY dime. Or actually on MY credit card as I can't afford to cough up any more cash and still meet my obligations for the month.

We also discovered that the drywall behind the vanity is soaked. So, before the carpenter can repair the vanity, we have to get the drywall dried out. ANother several days with the honking big fan and dehumidifier in the bathroom.

I spent Saturday night in a local hotel, paying holiday rates in a tourist area for the privilege of being able to take a (long) hot shower; my first in a week, during which I scrubbed myself practically raw, and sleep in blessed silence.

And that's what I did other than coming home to scoop litterpans, feed and scratch kitties, and give Thomas his Valium.

IT was a very boring hotel stay. I ate carryout, ate ibuprofen and penicilling as I've got two teeth going bad and don't know when I'll be able to get to the dentist to get them separated from my head (both are fractured and not candidates for root canals)

And slept the rest of the time. If the equipment is still in the bathroom for several more days, it will mean another trip to a hotel for a cleanliness break. I can't even get close enough to the tub to stand on a towel and take a sponge bath at this point.

Meanwhile, it is supposed to snow and ice all week on and off.

I finally made it to the vet to pick up the RX diet for Thomas wonky innards. With the help of the Valium, he is again roaming the house, fans be darned, but Squeaky hasn't left the bedroom since last Monday evening and isn't eating well. I've been sharing my meals with her. Luckily she has a cast iron digestive tract, so I don't have to worry about people food making her sick.

Thomas' coat is a mess as I can't reach my grooming tools which were in the cabinet in the bathroom. He isn't matted yet, but will take a deal of combing out before he's again presentable.

I did get one bit of news about this. I called the mobile home park manager today to ask if he could recommend a realtor to sell this place (hopefully before it breaks my bank) and he told me that he gets calls all the time from people looking to buy homes in the park, specifically cheap homes in the park, so I'm putting a sign in the window, and he will send people by once this round of mayhem is complete.

Whle the power was out, I made a rather appalling discovery. I quit smoking about 4 months ago. (I use an e-cig) and do not have lighters or matches in the house. It got cold in here, since of course the furnace doesn't work without power. I went to turn on the stove for some heat and realized that it has electronic ignition and I have no way to manually light the gas!

So, off to the drug store to buy some matches. They don't have any. I had to buy a cigarette lighter, which worked for lighting a burner, so I could light a twist of paper towel, stick my head in the oven, and light that.

Miracle I didn't singe my eyebrows off.

So, note to self: if still in this place when grilling season starts, buy a grill lighter.

I do want to mention that I have tranquilizers. I have booze. I have cigarettes and nicotine lozenges. I have not hit ANY of them during what has to have been one of the most stressful weeks I've experienced in the past few years.

Other than that, the apartment hunt is going well. I have several likely candidates in nice areas, though not as close to the state line as I'd like (those are all "Chicago suburbs now) as I can't afford the rents), but rather in the Milwaukee 'burbs, that will allow 2 cats, have rents that I can afford and will accept my FICO scores.

So, some good is coming of all this.

But, those of you who have silence in your lives right now, cherish it. It is amazing how stressful constant noise is.

I don't know how I managed to work in the old computer rooms for half my life without losing my mind in addition to quite a bit of my hearing.

So, that is my sad tale of woe still ongoing. The battle I with the ins co is still ongoing, but the mitigation company is fighting it out with them at this point and I am hoping I won't have to retain a lawyer to get this settled.

Hope those of you who celebrate had a happy easter/Passover
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
But, those of you who have silence in your lives right now, cherish it. It is amazing how stressful constant noise is.

Point taken.

Thank you for that, Going.

I have learned to cherish whatever blessing I am experiencing, and I hadn't even thought about silence, or breezes, or the sounds of things running the way they are supposed to ~ I hadn't thought about the goodness of those things.

Maybe, as you were planning to sell anyway, it is good that this happened now. Had it happened after the sale, or worse yet, as the sale was in progress, that would have been a worse thing.

You might have been facing a lawsuit, then. Or you might have had to take the house back. At least now you know what you are looking at, and most of it is covered by your insurance.

So sorry about the noise. I am cherishing the quiet here.

Cedar
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Well, I did find out that mobile homes sell just like used autos do: title and all through the DMV.

As a result, they can be sold 'as is". I know I had no legal recourse when, 2 weeks after I bought this place, the drainage system under the house crapped out to the tune of 3K dollars to completely replace.

I am selling this place for well under market value and it will be sold "as is". In fact, the main value of this place lies in high quality appliances, including newer window AC units. It needs drywall work, the flooring in the bedroom replaced, and some external landscaping and skirting work.

I am concerned about the effect the noise is having on my and the critter's hearing, though.

I have had tinnitus and hearing loss in my left ear for many years, most likely due to noise exposure on the job. I noticed the other day, that my right ear is now ringing.

Thomas has a substantial hearing loss, confirmed by my vet with a tuning fork. In his case it is most likely age-related. I suspect that with the ongoing noise from the drying fans, that he can't hear at all, and that that explains the disorientation and nervousness that required a course of Valium from the vet. (which is doing wonders for his nerves and general comfort level)

If the bathroom is still "in a state" by next weekend, I will make another trek to a hotel (hopefully one cheaper than the one I stayed in last Saturday) for a shower and to catch up on my sleep.

But yes, silence is a beautiful sound; it's a pity in general that in our modern, urbanized world, there is so little of it.

It is usually very quiet up here in this small town. The lack of silence is one of the things that concerns me with living in an apartment for the first time in many years.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
GN, as you know we wanted to move to an apartment yet still stay in a smaller area, which we did. It really isn't very noisy and is a very small building. My pets love it!!! Just look around and make a smart choice. If you move to a large complex with loads of people it may be not to your liking. Try to find a place with only 6-8 units and look at the tenants too. If you see a lot of funky looking young 'uns it may be best to give it a pass.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
The complexes I am looking at are larger, but that's intentional. I want the amentities like gym, pool, grounds to walk on, etc. The complex I am most interested in also has planned activities for tenants, which also interest me. I've been a hermit for the last 12 years and it is time to put an end to that.

The town I am looking at moving to is a 'burb about 20 miles S. of Milwaukee, so easy striking distance of shopping and restaurants and all the city stuff I do like.

In the other direction, it is about 36 miles from where my mother lives, so a good medium either way.

I feel that I've really stagnated living up here in the Northwoods in isolation. I've lived in cities for quite a bit of my life and do enjoy what the city has to offer in the way of recreation.

Living within an easy drive of Milwaukee also makes it much easier to reassemble a new medical care team, which has me more nervous than meeting new people and socializing does.

I need to get my "A-game" back. People who know me say I've gotten a lot more "autistic-ish" over the past several years, and the only treatment for that is to get out with people and practice my social skills.

At the same time, I'm a short drive from the parks along Lake Michigan, which is one of my favourite places to be.

It'll be no big deal to drive down and take my mother shopping. And since the apts I am looking at all have washers and dryers in the units, mum has already asked if it would be OK if she brought her laundry out when I picked her up for visits as its very hard for her to carry her laundry to and from the laundry room where she lives.

At the same time, its no big deal for me to drive down during the week and take her grocery shopping and some of the larger grocery stores and help her carry her stuff in and put it away. Right now she is shopping several times a week because she can't carry much at a time.

Oh, back to the original topic. The plumber came out to fix the leaky pipe. Told me it was his mstake because he should've caught it and repaired it on his visit to replace the faucet, and didn't charge me a DIME!!

Whoo-hoo!

The carpenter is coming at 10AM to replace the base of the vanity, but the fans and dehumidifier will be running for a bit yet in the bathroom.



She'd be welcome to spend the night on the sofa if she chooses. There are plenty of restaurants and grocery stores within a few minutes drive in this community as well.

You may remember Oak Creek for a very sad reason. That's the town in which a white supremacist mistook the local Sikh temple for a mosque and gunned down several worshippers. That said, crime is very low, schools are good, which is important to a neighbourhood even if one doesn't have children of school age.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Got some bad news this AM from the mitigation guy. He came out to rip out the rest of the vanity bottom and cut new particle board to fit. While he was at it, he tested the entire wall behind the vanity,which also divides the bedroom from the bathroom.

It is wet all the way up the CIELING! That's not from the plumbing. I apparently have a failing ROOF! Back last summer I had several leaks repaired and didn't claim them to the ins as they came in under my deductible. I haven't painted over the water staining on the interior.

It is looking like I may need a new roof AND the entire wall ripped out and replaced. Big job.

I called and opened a second new claim with the insurance company. Ate something once I got done with that, took an Ativan...and took a nap!

I have finally officially reached the point of wanting to pull the covers over my head and hide.

The drywall work can be done by a buyer who is "handy". Heck, I know how to do drywall work, just can't anymore due to infirmity.

The mitigation company is trying to get me to sign a waiver at this point. I am refusing to. The insurance company wants me to close the claim. I am refusing to. The adjuster went semi-ballistic on the phone when I called him and told him I was opening NEW claim.

Meanwhile, my house is a mess with mud and who knows what else tracked all over it, and no sense in cleaning it up because more just gets tracked in. I'm exhausted and totally stressed out.

I found out from my sister who called me last night (sober, thankfully) that whomever bought Stu's and my house after the foreclosure tore it down and put up 6 townhomes, and that depresses me. It was a lovely, little prairie bungalow that we purchased and rehabbed and made our own.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I called park mgmt. and found out that it costs around 5K to junk a trailer and clean up the lot, so somehow, I've either got to figure out how to fix this mess, paying what the insurance company won't pay, pray that the insurance company will pay what it'll cost to fix it, or sell it "as is" for a pittance and git while the gittin' is good,

All, I know is that I've officially hit "overstress mode".

I've got Squeaky in my lap licking my chin, and once she's done getting her scritches, I think I'm gonna go squoze Thomas.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Thanks Insane, I'm so tense right now, that I think you'd hear rubber bands snapping if you hugged me, so I'll bank those for later. I do appreciate them, though.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I've come to the decision that someone in this case is blowing smoke up my behind and telling its frankincense.

The insurance adjuster just left after testing the same walls the same walls the mitigation company tested yesterday.

HIS instruments show the walls to be dry.

He went up on the roof to check it, and after I refused to join him up there to view his findings (terrified of heights) he took a video to show me.

The repairs I had down last year are still holding. The ONLY thing wrong with my roof is ONE course of shingles that is showing some signs of wear. I will have those replaced to the tune of about 300 hundred dollars if it ever quits raining.

So, the mitigation company calls. I tell them of the adjuster's findings. They inform me that there is "no way everything dried out overnight". They will take readings today, but are not going to repair the vanity today. So, that's another day's "rental" on the equipment.

Meanwhile, I called both the adjuster and the CEO of the mitigation company and told BOTH that effective immediately, I was no longer liasing between the two companies regarding this claim. I'm not an expert in either insurance or water damage. They need to communicate with each other and work this out as all I knew is that *I* wasn't paying any more towards this than my deductible.

So, by this point, I had a good "mad" going. My mum calls for an update. I actually dropped an F-bomb while updating her, only to be informed that she knew she'd raised me and therefore was quite certain that I could expresss myself effectively without resorting to vulgar language.

Only reason I didn't roll my eyes is that even at 54, I'm still not quite certain that she wouldn't have heard me roll my eyes through the phone.

Just to add insult to injury, my dryer died last night. Heats up just fine. The drum won't turn. I called the appliance place I bought it from, and after a bit of "well, it IS 11 years old..." they informed me that it was most likely a belt, which is what I thought, it's an inexpensive repair, but they can't get out to do it until Tuesday, which leaves me schlepping a load of wet laundry to the Laundromat later today after the last of the circus is out of the house.

I do have to admit, that getting angry is a great antidote to being stressed out. It's a pity one can't detach from one's home as long as one is living in (and throwing money at) it.

On the other hand/ one can sell it and move.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I've come to the decision that someone in this case is blowing smoke up my behind and telling its frankincense.

The insurance adjuster just left after testing the same walls the same walls the mitigation company tested yesterday.

HIS instruments show the walls to be dry.

He went up on the roof to check it, and after I refused to join him up there to view his findings (terrified of heights) he took a video to show me.

The repairs I had down last year are still holding. The ONLY thing wrong with my roof is ONE course of shingles that is showing some signs of wear. I will have those replaced to the tune of about 300 hundred dollars if it ever quits raining.

So, the mitigation company calls. I tell them of the adjuster's findings. They inform me that there is "no way everything dried out overnight". They will take readings today, but are not going to repair the vanity today. So, that's another day's "rental" on the equipment.

Meanwhile, I called both the adjuster and the CEO of the mitigation company and told BOTH that effective immediately, I was no longer liasing between the two companies regarding this claim. I'm not an expert in either insurance or water damage. They need to communicate with each other and work this out as all I knew is that *I* wasn't paying any more towards this than my deductible.

So, by this point, I had a good "mad" going. My mum calls for an update. I actually dropped an F-bomb while updating her, only to be informed that she knew she'd raised me and therefore was quite certain that I could expresss myself effectively without resorting to vulgar language.

Only reason I didn't roll my eyes is that even at 54, I'm still not quite certain that she wouldn't have heard me roll my eyes through the phone.

Just to add insult to injury, my dryer died last night. Heats up just fine. The drum won't turn. I called the appliance place I bought it from, and after a bit of "well, it IS 11 years old..." they informed me that it was most likely a belt, which is what I thought, it's an inexpensive repair, but they can't get out to do it until Tuesday, which leaves me schlepping a load of wet laundry to the Laundromat later today after the last of the circus is out of the house.

I do have to admit, that getting angry is a great antidote to being stressed out. It's a pity one can't detach from one's home as long as one is living in (and throwing money at) it.

On the other hand/ one can sell it and move.
Well, the tech from the mitigation company left. Other than about 2 feet of the bedroom wall at floor level, which is from the plumbing issues, the wall is now dry.

So, the adjuster wasn't blowing smoke. He is going to try to get out here tomorrow to repair the vanity. The drying equipment is gone and it is quiet in here.

so, news is better than I thought. Meanwhile, my floors are absolutely trashed. Just filthy, and I am leaving it until the carpenter comes out to do the repairs, so HE can clean up the mitigation company's mess. As soon as I eat something, I'll get up the nails and the like, anything dangerous to me and the cats, but they can clean up their mess.

For the life of me I can't figure out why my bathtub as I had cleaned the bathroom earlier on the same day the faucet blew up and started this mess.

Shortly after I eat, I am going to take a nap as I'm running on about 3 hours sleep and am totally zonked.
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Wow, I just read that entire saga and I'm exhausted! What a week! So, the bottom line is that it is all dried out, the insurance company is battling it out, you refuse to pay, the carpenter will clean up the floors, the roof is ok, the wall is ok and you don't have to go to the hotel yet? Did I get it right? Whew. I guess it was time to find out what was wrong in your home and fix it! Funny though about your mom correcting your "vulgar" talk, I had to laugh. But, all in all, you survived. And, I took heed to your comments about QUIET, which I crave......I think I may have passed out from the noise level with the fans. You did well, you got through it and handled it all. Bet you're glad it's almost over now.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
You've basically got it right, RE, with the exception of my having to go to a motel Saturday so I could take a shower and actually get several hours of sleep in a quiet enough environment to get into a full-cycle sleep as opposed to the restless dozing I've mostly been doing.

Right now it is looking at one more visit from the mitigation co's carpenter to fix the vanity and for them to clean up their mess, and the appliance repair place coming out on Tuesday to repair a broken belt on my dryer, which crapped out last night.

I just got back from the Laundromat. Wow! Was that expensive!
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Well maybe you reached your quota for the year on home disasters, or maybe it's the decade quota......in any case, you're probably safe now for awhile!!
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
One of the requirements for the apartment complexes I am looking at is 24 hour on-site maintenance. If something breaks, I want to be able to pick up the phone, call it in, and have it fixed; on someone else's dime!

I may be ready to own again in the future, but for right now, after the house and this place, I'm done with it for a good, long while.
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Yeah, sounds like you need a break, a time where there are no dramas to deal with, where it's quiet, you're near family and friends, where you can just chill and relax and get your "mojo" back.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Well, RE, I slept in blessed silence last night and woke up at 11 AM. Slept so deeply in fact that I nearly hit the ceiling when the mitigation co. called at 8AM to tell me that they MAY be out on Monday to fix the vanity.

Got up, ate something, washed my hair, and decided that, under the circumstances, I'd best clean the bathroom. What a chore! And of course, the carpenter will trash it again when he finally makes it out here.

I've got the cleaning company coming next week for an estimate, rescheduled my doctor's appts for next week.

Found out I can't get into the dentist until the 20th, and worse yet, can't get into my psychiatrist until JUNE!

Only 2 mos late on medication mgmt. visit. I have a message in to his NP to call me back to figure out what to do about my medications before that...assuming I'm stil up here by then.

Argh...
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Glad to hear you got sleep, that is important, you can deal so much better with sleep. Can't they just submit another script for your meditations until you see the Dr.? We have Kaiser out here and it's simple to get scripts renewed........but neither husband nor I take any medications, so I may be out of that loop, perhaps it's more complex if you have a number of medications and they have to be monitored. Can't you tell the Dentist it's an emergency? Geez. You're in some kind of "waiting" hell.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
The dentist KNOWS its an emergency. I called him at home when the toothaches started to get antibiotics called in to my pharmacy.

Yes, I should be able to get new prescriptions made up that can be called in. The issue right now is that I am on quite a cocktail of medications for my bipolar and right now my medications aren't quite right. I don't know if I can wait until June without them being adjusted.

I can't ask my internist to attempt to adjust psychiatric medications.

I do feel like I am in "waiting hell" right now.

I am distracting myself by cleaning, or at least sweeping up some of the mess the mitigation people left. I just called them and told them they need to have the carpenter out here Monday or Tuesday as the rest of the week I have appointments.

I just found, on cleaning the bathroom, that when they were removing something, I assume the huge dehumidifier, from the bathroom, they tore off one of the baseboards next to the tub!

The carpenter can fix THAT as well!
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Seems every time you turn around something else needs repair. Well, when you actually sell the house, perhaps you might get more money since there is stuff being repaired and redone!!
 
Top